A public school system in Virginia has apologized for its history of racial segregation and a more recent pattern of discriminating against Black students.
The Washington Post reports that the Loudoun County Public Schools addressed its apology on Friday to the county's Black community in a letter and video.
The county fought a school desegregation order for more than a decade after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it illegal.
“The additional effort required and resources provided by the Black community to obtain an equal education created hardships to which other community members were not subjected,” the letter read. “Black people were denied rights and equal treatment.”
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Michelle Thomas, president of the local NAACP, questioned whether the apology is genuine.
“We feel it is more word than action,” Thomas said.
Rob Doolittle, a spokesman for the schools system, said the apology is only one step in the county’s plan to fight systemic racism.
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The school district, one of the country’s wealthiest, is 7 percent African American, 18 percent Hispanic, 25 percent Asian and 44 percent White.
